Australian Storm 1876

  Chapter 619 Colonel Fletcher

  Who would have thought of playing like this?

  This is too...too...too not particular, how can the railway manpower maintenance vehicle be used as a mobile fortress?

  Looking at the two moving fortresses, uh...the railway manpower maintenance vehicle drove up quickly, Colonel Fletcher jumped up like a frightened rabbit and shouted loudly; "Retreat, retreat quickly."

  There was no way to fight this battle. The sneak attack turned into a forceful attack. The head was battered under the barbed wire and solid defenses of the Orientals. More than 40 minutes of battle cost the 2,300 troops by half, and the enemy suffered few casualties.

  This makes Colonel Flett's heart bleed. He has never fought such an aggrieved battle. It's too shameful. How can there be any reason to change the human-powered maintenance vehicle into a mobile fortress?

  Don’t tell me...

  This thing is very convenient to arrange. It can move quickly on the railway. The most important thing is to provide a solid protection for the heavy machine gun group, and it can unscrupulously display its ferocious firepower.

  The poor sneak attack troops did not carry heavy artillery, and they were wiped out one by one like rabbits on this wasteland. There is really no way to fight this battle. Retreat quickly!

   Just then, the sharp whistle sounded...

  Puffpuffpuffpuffpuff...

  Several white phosphorous flares rose up again in the sky, dispelling large areas of darkness, and illuminating the surrounding battlefield.

  The heavy machine gun positions of the Easterners roared, and the fast-moving manpowered maintenance vehicle, uh... the mobile fortress also exerts fierce firepower from the side.

Accompanied by the sharp whistle, the defenders ambushing on the bulging railway line jumped up and launched a fierce charge with their rifles. At this time, a force was also shot out from the other side, with a number of about 200 people. The gun in his hand rushed up fiercely, yelling: "Surrender to avoid death, resist and kill without mercy."

Originally, the distance between the two was only more than 200 meters. Now the soldiers of the Southern Army were crushed by the fierce machine gun fire. The sporadic resistance was immediately overwhelmed by more fierce bullets. After people raised their hands obediently and surrendered, more people raised their hands...

This short and fierce battle ended after one hour and one quarter of an hour. The attacked regiment and guard battalion totaled more than 2,360 white officers and soldiers. More than 1,200 people were killed (without injuries) and 912 were captured, including the Southern Army. Colonel Fletcher, deputy commander of the Sixth Division, and more than 200 people fled at night and disappeared into the dark night.

  The defensive troops only paid the slight price of 7 deaths and 26 minor and serious injuries, and achieved such a brilliant victory, which greatly boosted the morale of the defenders.

  唔Thunder!

  The first great news came at the time of Buddha's dawn. Dozens of drenched defeated generals fled back in despair, reporting the news that the entire army was almost wiped out.

These soldiers never thought that they would need to walk back and forth in the cold Lime River twice. When they came back, their faces were blue with cold, their noses and tears flowed down uncontrollably, their teeth shook and couldn't stop. All the equipment on his body was completely wiped out, looking very miserable.

   "My God, is it April Fool's Day today?" Lieutenant General Julian Smith waved his hands in the air with a frantic expression, his face distorted with anger.

  There is nothing to say in the course of the battle. The Southern Army thought it was a sneak attack. In fact, they had been waiting for it. As for the manpowered maintenance vehicle, General Julian Smith was no longer interested in listening.

  The facts are very clear, the first battle has been lost, and the defeat is terrible.

  It does not matter whether there is a railway manpower maintenance vehicle, but the defeat is more thorough.

  For the Southern Army, which is suppressed by large soldiers, this little trick can cause a little trouble at most, and it is impossible to affect the overall situation. It can be destroyed by artillery when needed.

  "Your Excellency General, the whole army is ready to go, look..."

"You don’t need to remind Colonel Allen Keynes. I haven’t lost my mind yet. It’s a terrible start. The Sixth Division’s performance is as disappointing as a cowardly woman. I’m thinking about whether I should give Colonel Antonio. Awarding a gold medal in recognition of his success in misleading me, it's damn... the experienced deputy commander you vowed to promise brought too much shock, it was a shock, not a surprise... That's right!"

Lieutenant General Julian Smith roared frantically, pacing back and forth in the military tent like a beast. His rage made the senior officer look at each other, and no one dared to say anything, he was afraid that the anger would hit him. On the head.

  In a moment

  Lieutenant General Julian-Smith panted heavily, staring at his hands with scary bloodshot eyes, and commanded each word; "Order the soldiers to go back to the camp and rest, Colonel Antonio..."

  "Please give your instructions, Your Excellency General."

"Let your people build two bridges over the Lime River. One of them must be able to pass a heavy gun carriage. I will see two bridges erected before this evening. Please remember Mr. Colonel, I don’t want to listen anymore. To any excuse."

  "Your will will be carried out, Your Excellency General."

  "Very well, get out of here, let me be quiet for a while."

   "Yes, sir."

  Since the sneak attack was defeated, the original daybreak attack would naturally fail. Now the army will rest for two days before looking for a fighter.

   After losing the first battle, Lieutenant General Julian Smith has given up the idea of ​​a surprising victory, and is ready to crush the past with a dignified formation, without giving the cunning Easterners any chance to play tricks.

  Xueshan Town

  Cheers and laughter flooded this Chinese town. Everyone had the joy of victory on their faces. For such a big victory at a negligible price, they did have reason to celebrate.

Every white soldier in the Southern Army is rewarded. Killing a soldier is rewarded for 5 pounds, killing a second lieutenant is rewarded for 12 pounds, killing a lieutenant is rewarded for 18 pounds, and killing a captain is rewarded for 30 pounds. Colonel...a reward of 200 pounds.

  Captives...the rewards are halved. Perhaps it was deliberately done by the Army General Staff. Anyway, the captives are less rewarding, and there is a cruel taste in it.

   "Hahaha, sir Duan, we are going to make a fortune now, let me say that the colonel is killed, anyway, holding the epaulettes that can prove his identity can be exchanged for rewards, staying here for nothing."

   "Yes, sir Duan, let's kill him."

   "If you want me to die, I can save a bullet."

  "Go away, don’t get **** and disgusting. If you want me to say strangulation, forget it, I’m good at it, leave it to me, and promise you that it’s clean."

Several officers surrounded Lieutenant Colonel Duan Qirui happily, trying to kill the captured Colonel Fletcher. 200 pounds is a huge sum of money. Everyone can drop a lot more than this white-skinned green-eyed one. Guilao is much cute.

  This time more than 1,000 people were killed and more than 900 enemy troops were captured. There were more than 70 officers, large and small, but the boss is a lot of money. All the officers and soldiers here have a share. Who can be unhappy?

  The great war broke out

  Ocean Kingdom has been ruthless, and every captured enemy army has rewards. It seems that it is preparing to kill these rampant whites fiercely, in order to emulate you.

  From now on, the effect is excellent. The young people are particularly motivated to participate in the war. There are also rewards for killing the enemy and defending their homeland. What fools are they not willing to?

  Most of the Chinese immigrants are illiterate. It doesn’t work to talk about great principles. It is the right way to expect the people to sell their lives and have to take out money and land and have visible and tangible benefits to motivate soldiers to fight.

From the point of view of the military care system of the Ocean Kingdom, it is more cost-effective to come up with a reward, because the enemy captured in the battle has already been rewarded. In the future, rewards for meritorious deeds can reduce the distribution of military merits in Australia, so as not to be for the future. Development brings unnecessary trouble.

"Please don't kill me, I have money, I have a lot of money, I will give you all of this money, I also have a 17,000-acre ranch in Newcastle, sir...Just leave my life, I will give you all of this.” Although he did not understand the difficult and unreasonable Chinese, Colonel Fletcher was not stupid. The officers looked at him like lambs to be slaughtered, and smiled with evil. Fun, just like a devil.

Lieutenant Colonel Duan Qirui turned around and looked at him interestingly, and said noncommittal; "You have to answer some of my questions now. You must not conceal or deceive. I will find someone else to verify your confession. If there is one If the problem makes me unsatisfied, I will remove one thing from you, ear, nose, palm or foot..."

  Speaking of which

Lieutenant Colonel Duan Qirui paused deliberately, let Colonel Fletcher digest the terrible news, and then continued; "In the end, I will pierce your heart with a knife and take your life. Remember that you are me. Prisoner of war, everything you have is mine. Can you continue to keep these little things on your body? It depends on your performance. Do you understand?"

"Oh, God, what did I meet?" Colonel Fletcher was so frightened that he peeed. Being indifferent to other people's lives does not mean that he is also indifferent to his own life. On the contrary, he cherishes life after experiencing too many deaths; "Honorable sir, I will answer unreservedly whatever you want to know, I promise..."

   "It's okay, you can also try to lie to me and see if I can take away the gadgets from you."

   "No... don't try this."

"Haha... well, let's start a pleasant conversation." Duan Qirui said here, turning his head to say to the officers who were looking up and down Colonel Fletcher unkindly; "Don't be here, one Is it uncomfortable to be idle? What should I do? The battle has just started, and there are more than 10,000 southern troops outside the town. Don't just make trouble for me here."

   "Zhi La boss, then let's go."

   "Seriously, talk human."

   "Yes, sir, let's go to patrol the position now."

   "Go, report anything immediately."

   "Yes, sir."

Duan Qirui sent a group of brothers away, looked back at Colonel Fletcher with a smile, and drew a sharp short blade from his waist and said; "Then let's start, where do we start... first Tell me about your Smith Corps, how many troops do you have in total?"

"The report chief, the Smith Corps has a total of 36,700 people, all of which are white farmers, herders and urban residents near Newcastle. There are also a few farmers and white cowboys in the Wollongong region. The composition is relatively single, mostly Irish and Germans. Strong combat effectiveness."

   "How many divisions have been established?"

"The report chief, there are three divisions plus two cavalry regiments. They are the 3rd Infantry Division, the 6th Infantry Division and the 7th Infantry Division, the Doron Cavalry Regiment, the Newcastle Cavalry Regiment, and the two artillery regiments missing one. Camp, there is also a logistic mule and horse regiment."

   "Well, how many people are you here this time?"

   "Report sir, we are here this time for the third division without a regiment, the sixth division without the artillery regiment, and there is also a cavalry regiment stationed in the hilly area 12 kilometers away from Xueshan Town."

   "What about the follow-up troops?"

   "The report chief, currently stationed in the outer positions of Sydney, coordinating with other troops to prevent possible armed attacks by Beilun, the total number of troops is about 20,000, and you can always follow the command of the commander to reinforce the frontline battlefield."

   "Well, that means our enemy is not 16,000, but an army of 36,700."

"Reporting sir, there should be 34,400 people to be precise, because the force I led has been wiped out by you. Your strategy is admirable. I hope I can follow you and do my best. Please Allow me to introduce, I know the law, and I can speak English, French and Latin. I can also speak a few words in German. I hope it helps."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

  Fletcher's flattery made Duan Qirui laugh. When a person completely gives up the bottom line, you know that his lower limit is infinitely low, so low you can't imagine.

   "You mean...want to serve me?"

"Yes, sir, that's what I think. Your flexible tactics like barbed wire and railway maintenance vehicles really opened my eyes. I believe that if you can survive the war, you will definitely become a statement. It will be my greatest honor to serve you."

"Hehehe...for this barbed wire tactic, I really want to thank you Americans." Duan Qirui showed a mysterious smile on his face, and then took the sharp short blade to pick his fingernails and watched him. Letcher's spirits went up and down, and his back spine was chills.

  This is a smiling devil, it's terrible.

  To really talk about barbed wire, we have to start with the signing of the Homestead Act by US President Lincoln.

   Act regulations;

From January 1, 1863, all U.S. citizens who have reached the age of 21 or foreigners who apply for naturalization as a U.S. citizen can receive no more than 160 acres for living and farming, free of charge or by paying a $10 registration fee. State-owned land in the west is regarded as a "allotment."

  160 acres of land is not small, equivalent to 91 football fields, it can be said to be extremely generous.

   "Go west, young people, go west" Horace Greeley, the editor-in-chief of the New York Tribune, yelled a loud slogan.

  At that time, it was the most difficult moment of the Civil War, and the development of the west was far less developed than it is now. Instead, large tracts of land were deserted. It was originally a good bill to provide welfare to the American people, but it didn't get more applause.

  For ordinary people

  The lack of supporting facilities such as medical care, living and transportation can be overcome. The wild west security is the biggest problem. The ubiquitous gunmen, villains, horse bandits and beasts make this barren land chaotic and disorderly.

  Even the food with the shortest growth cycle, it takes one or two months to mature.

  In the past two months, even if people grow crops well, once they encounter local indigenous livestock or some wild animals ruined, the food just planted will instantly become the belly of these beasts.

  For this problem, just build a fence around the farm

   But 160 acres, relying on manpower to cut wood to build a fence, bankruptcy can not be built.

After experiencing the most primitive difficulties of reclaiming wasteland and expanding land, Americans' enthusiasm for developing the West began to decline rapidly.

  In 1868, the U.S. Department of Agriculture made an assessment and came to the conclusion: If the fencing problem is not solved, the homestead law is a dead letter.

  Just when the US government was having a headache for the western development policy, a young boy Joseph Glidden invented the barbed wire fence, which later generations called "50 great inventions that shaped the world economy."

  With a very small number of wooden stakes and a few pieces of barbed wire, you can enclose a large area of ​​land and keep the wild beasts out. It is simply an artifact of western development.

  In just 6 years after mass production of barbed wire, 263,000 miles of barbed wire were sold across the United States, which is equivalent to circling the earth 10 times.

  Since then, the "Western Development" of the United States has expanded at an astonishing speed. With the increase in immigration, the vast western frontier of the United States has stabilized, and the subsequent economic growth has helped the United States enter a golden age of development.

   Knowing this history, you can understand why Duan Qirui said to thank the Americans?

  Barbed wire is also widely used in Australia, but used in warfare, Duan Qirui can definitely be called the first person.

  After some inquiries

  Duan Qirui was quite satisfied with the Fletcher, who was very close to his ears, and silently marked him with the mark of "fear of death."

   Ordered the guards to keep the colonel and other prisoners in custody closely, and to temper their temper. Lieutenant Colonel Duan Qirui turned and left the house in Xueshan Town and walked along the street.

  You can see full-armed soldiers marching in formations everywhere on the street, as well as various pits marked with lime powder, dangerous walls and intricate institutions, which make your scalp numb.

  This town has been completely transformed. In Snow Mountain Town, all soldiers have to act according to the lime dust marks, and they must not walk around or run in vain, so as not to lose their lives in vain.

  As planned;

  The troops who finally withdrew from the town were responsible for covering up the lime dust marks with dust, which seemed to be no different from ordinary towns.

When I stepped into Snow Mountain Town, I knew it was amazing. I stepped into a pit and was pierced by sharp wooden thorns. I walked to the wall and suddenly the wall collapsed. I pushed open the courtyard door. Suddenly, the stone fell and I walked in. On the road, I was suddenly pierced by the iron tribulus soaked in manure...

  All these are shocking.

  Duan Qirui is definitely a ruthless person. When he tries his best to harm people, he can use any kind of strategy. As long as he can hit the enemy hard, he will not be jealous.

  (End of this chapter)